In recent years, process control systems, like those used in chemical, petroleum, and/or other processes, have grown progressively more complex with the proliferation of field devices that include more processing power than their predecessors. Current generation process control systems include a greater number and variety of field devices or instruments for measuring and/or controlling different aspects of a process control environment. In addition to utilizing field devices to monitor and/or control core processes, field devices have been increasingly used for peripheral tasks such as prognostic health monitoring of fluid flow control assemblies such as pumps and valves.
Fluid flow control assemblies within the process control system may be in difficult environments such as areas with extreme vibration, high pressure, and/or wide temperature ranges that may cause accelerated failure. With the implementation of increasingly powerful field devices, process control systems can monitor the prognostic health of the fluid flow control assemblies in these difficult environments using a wide array of sensing devices. Monitoring field devices using the sensing devices coupled with peripheral algorithmic routines can be used to predict potential failures. By predicting potential failures, technicians are empowered to replace potentially faulty fluid flow control assemblies during periodic maintenance as opposed to halting operation of the system to replace the potentially faulty fluid flow control assemblies.